Electronic mirror device

Abstract

An electronic mirror device 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure displays a user's facial mirror image, and can shift, according to the user's facial orientation or line of sight, the location where the facial image is displayed to a location where he or she can view his or her own facial image easily. The electronic mirror device 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an image capturing section 102 which captures the user's facial image, an image data generating section 120 which outputs image data representing the user's facial mirror image based on image data representing the user's facial image that has been captured, a display section 103 which displays the image data representing the user's facial mirror image, and a display location shifting section 130 which shifts a location where the mirror image is displayed on the display section.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic mirror device which displays a user's facial mirror image, the device comprising:
 an image capturing section which captures the user's facial image; 
 an image data generating section which outputs image data representing the user's facial mirror image based on image data representing the user's facial image that has been captured; 
 a display section which displays the image data representing the user's facial mirror image; 
 an orientation estimating section which estimates the user's facial orientation; and 
 a display location shifting section which shifts a location where the mirror image is displayed on the display section, wherein the display location shifting section shifts the location where the mirror image is displayed according to the facial orientation that has been estimated, and wherein the shifted mirror image is a real-time mirrored image of the user. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface which accepts the user's instruction to shift the location where the mirror image is displayed,
 wherein the display location shifting section shifts the location where the mirror image is displayed in accordance with the user's instruction. 
 
     
     
       3. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , further comprising a facial feature detecting section which detects a location and a distribution of a predetermined facial part of the image data representing the user's facial image,
 wherein the orientation estimating section estimates the user's facial orientation based on the location and the distribution of the predetermined facial part that has been detected. 
 
     
     
       4. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , further comprising a distance estimating section which estimates a distance from the display section to the user's face,
 wherein the display location shifting section shifts the location where the mirror image is displayed according to the facial orientation and distance that have been estimated. 
 
     
     
       5. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , wherein the image capturing section and the display section form integral parts of the device. 
     
     
       6. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , wherein before the display location shifting section shifts the location where the mirror image is displayed, the image data is displayed closer to the image capturing section than to a central area of the display section. 
     
     
       7. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the display sections,
 wherein the display location shifting section shifts the location where the mirror image is displayed from one of the plurality of display section to another. 
 
     
     
       8. The electronic mirror device of  claim 1 , wherein the shifted mirror image is a mirror image of the user's entire face. 
     
     
       9. An electronic mirror device which displays a user's facial mirror image, that device comprising:
 an image capturing section which captures the user's facial image; 
 an image data generating section which outputs image data representing the user's facial mirror image based on image data representing the user's facial image that has been captured; 
 a display section which displays the image data representing the user's facial mirror image; 
 a line of sight detecting section which detects the direction of the user's line of sight; and 
 a display location shifting section which shifts a location where the mirror image is displayed on the display section, wherein the display location shifting section shifts the location where the mirror image is displayed to a location to which the user currently directs his or her line of sight, and wherein the shifted mirror image is a real-time mirrored image of the user. 
 
     
     
       10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program which is defined to make an electronic device perform an operation of displaying a user's facial mirror image, the operation comprising the steps of:
 capturing the user's facial image; 
 outputting image data representing the user's facial mirror image based on image data representing the user's facial image that has been captured; 
 displaying the image data representing the user's facial mirror image; 
 estimating the user's facial orientation; and 
 shifting a location where the mirror image is displayed, wherein the location where the mirror image is displayed is shifted according to the facial orientation that has been estimated, and wherein the shifted mirror image is a real-time mirrored image of the user.